CLI Reference

Complete reference for all Kuve commands and options.

Synopsis

kuve [command] [flags]

Global Flags

These flags are available for all commands:

Flag	Short	Description	Default
`--verbose`	`-v`	Enable verbose output	`false`
`--help`	`-h`	Show help for command	-

Example

kuve --verbose install v1.28.0
kuve -v switch v1.29.0

Commands

kuve install

Install a specific kubectl version from official Kubernetes releases.

Synopsis

kuve install <version> [flags]

Description

Downloads and installs kubectl binary for the specified version from dl.k8s.io. The version can be specified with or without the 'v' prefix.

Arguments

version (required): The kubectl version to install (e.g., v1.29.0 or 1.29.0)

Examples

# Install with 'v' prefix
kuve install v1.28.0

# Install without 'v' prefix
kuve install 1.28.0

# Verbose output
kuve install v1.29.0 --verbose

Output

Downloading kubectl v1.28.0 for linux/amd64...
Successfully installed kubectl v1.28.0

kuve uninstall

Remove an installed kubectl version.

Synopsis

kuve uninstall <version> [flags]

Description

Removes the specified kubectl version from ~/.kuve/versions/. You cannot uninstall the currently active version.

Arguments

version (required): The kubectl version to uninstall

Examples

# Uninstall a version
kuve uninstall v1.27.0

# Uninstall without 'v' prefix
kuve uninstall 1.27.0

Output

Successfully uninstalled kubectl v1.27.0

kuve switch

Switch the active kubectl version.

Synopsis

kuve switch <version> [flags]

Description

Changes the active kubectl version by updating the symbolic link in ~/.kuve/bin/kubectl.

Arguments

version (required): The kubectl version to switch to

Examples

# Switch to specific version
kuve switch v1.28.0

# Switch without 'v' prefix
kuve switch 1.28.0

Output

Switched to kubectl v1.28.0
Note: Make sure /home/user/.kuve/bin is in your PATH

kuve current

Show the currently active kubectl version.

Synopsis

kuve current [flags]

Description

Displays the kubectl version currently in use.

Examples

kuve current

Output

Current kubectl version: v1.28.0

kuve list

List kubectl versions.

Synopsis

kuve list [installed|remote] [flags]

Description

Lists either installed kubectl versions or the latest remote stable version.

Subcommands

kuve list installed

List all locally installed kubectl versions.

kuve list installed

Output:

Installed kubectl versions:
  v1.26.3
* v1.28.0
  v1.29.1

* = current version (v1.28.0)

kuve list remote

Show the latest stable kubectl version available.

kuve list remote

Output:

Latest stable version: v1.29.1

kuve use

Use kubectl version from file or detect from cluster.

Synopsis

kuve use [flags]

Description

Switches kubectl version based on:

.kubernetes-version file in current directory (default)
Kubernetes cluster version (with --from-cluster flag)

Flags

Flag	Short	Description
`--from-cluster`	`-c`	Detect version from current cluster context

Examples

# Use version from .kubernetes-version file
kuve use

# Detect from cluster
kuve use --from-cluster
kuve use -c

Output

# From file
Found .kubernetes-version file with version v1.28.0
Switched to kubectl v1.28.0

# From cluster
Detecting Kubernetes version from current cluster context...
Detected cluster version: v1.28.3-gke.1234 (using kubectl v1.28.0)
Switched to kubectl v1.28.0

kuve init

Create a .kubernetes-version file.

Synopsis

kuve init [version] [flags]

Description

Creates a .kubernetes-version file in the current directory with either the specified version or the currently active version.

Arguments

version (optional): The kubectl version to write to file. If omitted, uses current version.

Examples

# Use current version
kuve init

# Specify version
kuve init v1.28.0

# Without 'v' prefix
kuve init 1.28.0

Output

Created .kubernetes-version file with version v1.28.0

kuve completion

Generate shell completion scripts.

Synopsis

kuve completion <shell> [flags]

Description

Generates completion scripts for the specified shell.

Supported Shells

bash
zsh
fish
powershell

Examples

# Bash - current session
source <(kuve completion bash)

# Bash - system-wide
kuve completion bash | sudo tee /etc/bash_completion.d/kuve

# Zsh
kuve completion zsh > "${fpath[1]}/_kuve"

# Fish
kuve completion fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/kuve.fish

# PowerShell
kuve completion powershell | Out-String | Invoke-Expression

kuve version

Show Kuve version information.

Synopsis

kuve version [flags]
kuve --version [flags]

Description

Displays the version of Kuve.

Examples

kuve version
kuve --version

Output

kuve version dev

kuve help

Show help information.

Synopsis

kuve help [command] [flags]
kuve [command] --help

Description

Displays help information for Kuve or a specific command.

Examples

# General help
kuve help
kuve --help

# Command-specific help
kuve help install
kuve install --help

Version Formats

Kuve accepts versions in multiple formats:

With 'v' Prefix

kuve install v1.29.0
kuve switch v1.28.0

Without 'v' Prefix

kuve install 1.29.0
kuve switch 1.28.0

Normalization

Both formats are normalized internally to use the 'v' prefix.

Exit Codes

Kuve uses standard exit codes:

Code	Meaning	Example Scenarios
`0`	Success	Command completed successfully
`1`	General error	Invalid arguments, version not found
`2`	Misuse	Incorrect command syntax

Examples

# Success
kuve install v1.28.0
echo $?  # Output: 0

# Error - version not installed
kuve switch v1.99.0
echo $?  # Output: 1

# Error - cannot uninstall current version
kuve uninstall v1.28.0  # if v1.28.0 is current
echo $?  # Output: 1

Environment Variables

PATH

The PATH environment variable must include ~/.kuve/bin:

export PATH="$HOME/.kuve/bin:$PATH"

HOME

Kuve uses $HOME to locate the .kuve directory:

~/.kuve/
├── bin/
└── versions/

HTTP_PROXY / HTTPS_PROXY

Kuve respects proxy settings for downloads:

export HTTP_PROXY="http://proxy.example.com:8080"
export HTTPS_PROXY="https://proxy.example.com:8443"

Configuration Files

.kubernetes-version

Project-level version file.

Location: Project root directory

Format:

v1.28.0

Usage:

kuve use  # Reads from .kubernetes-version

Synopsis​

Global Flags​

Example​

Commands​

kuve install​

Synopsis​

Description​

Arguments​

Examples​

Output​

kuve uninstall​

Synopsis​

Description​

Arguments​

Examples​

Output​

kuve switch​

Synopsis​

Description​

Arguments​

Examples​

Output​

kuve current​

Synopsis​

Description​

Examples​

Output​

kuve list​

Synopsis​

Description​

Subcommands​

kuve list installed​

kuve list remote​

kuve use​

Synopsis​

Description​

Flags​

Examples​

Output​

kuve init​

Synopsis​

Description​

Arguments​

Examples​

Output​

kuve completion​

Synopsis​

Description​

Supported Shells​

Examples​

kuve version​

Synopsis​

Description​

Examples​

Output​

kuve help​

Synopsis​

Description​

Examples​

Version Formats​

With 'v' Prefix​

Without 'v' Prefix​

Normalization​

Exit Codes​

Examples​

Environment Variables​

PATH​

HOME​

HTTP_PROXY / HTTPS_PROXY​

Configuration Files​

.kubernetes-version​

See Also​

Synopsis

Global Flags

Example

Commands

kuve install

Synopsis

Description

Arguments

Examples

Output

kuve uninstall

Synopsis

Description

Arguments

Examples

Output

kuve switch

Synopsis

Description

Arguments

Examples

Output

kuve current

Synopsis

Description

Examples

Output

kuve list

Synopsis

Description

Subcommands

kuve list installed

kuve list remote

kuve use

Synopsis

Description

Flags

Examples

Output

kuve init

Synopsis

Description

Arguments

Examples

Output

kuve completion

Synopsis

Description

Supported Shells

Examples

kuve version

Synopsis

Description

Examples

Output

kuve help

Synopsis

Description

Examples

Version Formats

With 'v' Prefix

Without 'v' Prefix

Normalization

Exit Codes

Examples

Environment Variables

PATH

HOME

HTTP_PROXY / HTTPS_PROXY

Configuration Files

.kubernetes-version

See Also